US agency that made the news

The Splash news and picture agency dominated coverage of the missing canoe man by being the first to find his wife, Anne Darwin, and spirit her away.

The news agency, one the US's most successful, tracked her down in Panama City just hours ahead of Fleet Street rivals and persuaded her to go into hiding, granting its reporter and photographer exclusive access. As her story unravelled into global news, the agency delivered scoop after scoop to its two clients, the Daily Mail and Mirror, leaving the competition scrambling for crumbs.

When John Darwin walked into a police station last Saturday, five years after his supposed death in a canoeing accident, Fleet Street recognised a gripping tale which would sell newspapers.

Rumours that his wife was in Panama prompted the Mail to contract David Leigh, a former Mirror news editor and now chief of Splash's Miami bureau, to fly to central America. It is understood that soon after his arrival on Monday the Mirror learned Darwin's address in Panama City.

The Mail had a team on the ground but no address. The Mirror had the address but no team. So they made a deal. The Mirror would hand over the address and they would share the scoop. Both papers have denied paying her directly, but it is unclear if Splash paid Darwin.

Splash spirited her to the airport on Wednesday evening. She is believed to have caught the 8.26pm flight to Miami, where the agency has a base, and continued feeding it exclusives.

Once she returns to the UK the agency will lose control but the best part of the show may already be over and its ringmasters, Splash, will be taking a bow.

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